Assad regime warplanes carried out a new massacre on Monday in the city of Maarat al-Nu’man south of Idleb, amid an unprecedented military escalation on the region.
The Civil Defense (White Helmets) said that at least nine civilians were killed and another 13 were wounded in the bombardment of the al-Hal market in the city, in addition to massive destruction in the area and major damage to private property.
The Civil Defense team worked to remove victims from under the rubble and treat the wounded, while teams opened the road to the market.
The massacre comes amid a major escalation in Idleb’s towns and cities, with the outskirts of the town of Jarjanaz and Maarat al-Nu’man seeing four Russian airstrikes without any wounded, and damage restricted to property.
A man and a woman were also wounded during an attack by an Assad forces warplane in two strikes on their home in the town of al-Ghadfa in the eastern Maarat al-Nu’man countryside. A man was also wounded during heavy airstrikes by Assad warplanes on the towns of al-Haraki and al-Sarman in the southeastern Idleb countryside.
In a further escalation, the market in Saraqeb was hit in the early hours by an airstrike, which killed a civilian and wounded others, according to the Civil Defense.
The escalation comes amid attempts by Assad’s forces, backed by Russian forces, to advance into areas controlled by opposition factions in the southern and eastern Idleb countryside.
The fighting in the southeastern Idleb countryside has pushed thousands of civilians to flee from various villages and towns in the areas of the clashes. The Humanitarian Response Coordinators said that the heavy displacement from the southern countryside was ongoing—specifically from the Maarat al-Nu’man areas, with thousands of displaced families fleeing towards relatively safe areas in northwestern Syria.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
